Suspects facing five counts each in pizza dough theft

Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Derrick Thompson (Courtesy photo)

No matter how you slice it, a plan to steal the proceeds of a Cloverdale pizza place after perhaps the busiest pie-ordering period of the year, came off half-baked this past weekend.

Within six hours of the first report of an alleged New Year's Day burglary at Pizza, Spuds and Sticks in Cloverdale, authorities had arrested two suspects, reportedly solicited a confession and recovered an estimated $1,200 in cash.

And now the two men charged in the incident -- Derrick Michael Thompson, 24, and James Lambert Williams, 20 -- are facing five criminal counts each with punishment that could total as much as 15 years in jail.

James Williams (Courtesy photo)

Thompson and Williams, who reside together in a Greencastle apartment, made their initial appearances in Putnam Superior Court Monday afternoon, each suspect facing like charges of:

-- Burglary, a Level 5 felony with a sentencing range of 1-6 years.

-- Conspiracy to commit burglary, a Level 5 felony with a sentencing range of 1-6 years

-- Theft, a Level 6 felony with a sentencing range from six months to 2-1/2 years.

-- Possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor carrying a sentence of up to 180 days.

-- Possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor carrying a sentence of up to 60 days.

Judge Denny Bridges entered preliminary not-guilty pleas on their behalf and set bond for each man at $20,000 (with 10 percent allowable). An 11 a.m. pretrial conference was set for Feb. 24 in the case.

The incident began to unfold about 11:20 p.m. Jan. 1 after an alarm company notified the store manager of a break-in at the 3 W. Stardust Rd. business.

However, it didn't take long for police, led by Cloverdale Officer Tyler D. Turner, to figure out the supposed break-in was more likely an inside job.

Manager Leah Moy told Turner the back window in the kitchen area had been pushed in, allowing an intruder or intruders to make entry, subsequently taking $148 from the cash register and approximately $1,000 from the daily deposit bag.

Thompson, who worked part-time at Pizza, Spuds and Sticks, became the prime suspect when the restaurant manager noted that he had left the pizzeria earlier but returned shortly before closing under the guise of having forgotten something.

Officer Turner noted that the window was not broken but had been left unlocked and was simply lifted off its track and laid aside during the incident.

Court records indicate that when cell phone contact was finally made with Thompson at his Greencastle apartment, he said he and Williams were there with two 18-year-old women, one of whom was familiar to Greencastle Capt. Charles Inman due to an earlier investigation.

In the meantime, Thompson and the female in question returned to the restaurant, while Capt. Inman went to the suspects' apartment and spoke with Williams and the other female. In the process, Inman noted a "strong odor" of marijuana and advised of conflicting stories given by the duo.

After Inman and Turner were given consent to search the apartment, they found drug paraphernalia. Then, with Thompson present, they searched his bedroom, where they were advised he had stowed his "tip money" in a backpack, planning to use the cash to pay his rent.

When the officers counted the cash, totaling $148, they realized it was the identical sum reported missing from the restaurant cash register. The money also perfectly matched the denominations of the missing cash -- 73 $1 bills, five $5 bills, three $10 bills and one $20.

Also located in the bedroom were a pair of shoes matching prints found outside the kitchen window of the pizza parlor.

Upon further investigation, Cloverdale Officer Mark Hoppus reportedly obtained a confession from Williams and "enough information from Thompson" to send Officer Turner back to the apartment where another $900 was found hidden in a pair of black, military-style shoes in Thompson's bedroom.

Both Thompson and Williams were then arrested and lodged in the Putnam County Jail at 5:30 a.m. Jan. 2.

The two suspects are under no-contact orders to keep off the premises of Pizza, Spuds and Sticks.

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